No X-rated video showing from Edwards as Luton boss didn't want to let Bees thrashing 'fester'

Luton boss Rob Edwards felt it was important not to let the 5-1 defeat against Brentford ‘fester’ amongst his players this week as Town face another huge game in their fight to stay in the Premier League when travelling to Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon.

The Hatters turned up against the Bees hoping to stretch the unbeaten run at Kenilworth Road to three matches and most importantly, pick up another vital three points that would lifted them out of the relegation zone. However 90 chastening minutes later and the hosts were left licking their wounds somewhat, Thomas Frank’s side having dished out their biggest defeat on home soil this term, condemning their opponents to 5-1 loss for the second successive weekend.

Although it was a real blow to Luton’s survival hopes, results elsewhere meant they still remained very much intact, a win this afternoon moving them above the dotted line and ahead of fourth bottom Forest who host Manchester City tomorrow. With that in mind, asked just how he and his players have responded to Saturday’s nightmare this week, Edwards said “It did (hurt), but we can't allow it to fester or hurt too long.

"We lost a game of football, it is important, it is serious, because this is the big league and we want to be here. We know it’s important to a lot of people and it’s important to us, so I’m not brushing it off, but at the same time what we can’t do is allow it to hurt us more and knock confidence and knock belief, cause ructions within the group, people pointing fingers or whispering in corners, all that sort of stuff, we won’t allow that.

“So learn from it, we put it to bed quickly on the Monday and there’s been a really good focus then from all of the group. Yes it was disappointment and anger and frustration immediately after the game in the dressing room and rightly so, we allowed our standards to drop and it hasn’t happened often this year. But if you do at this level, that’s what happens and credit to Brentford again, they were good, but especially against us, I expect every team to be good.

"That’s what we do, we expect the best version of the opposition. They turned up and then as we got hit, we faltered, which we haven’t done this year. It knocked us and we didn’t recover well and that’s probably the first time that’s happened this year. We’ve had off days, but we’ve stuck at it and kept going, but that was the first time. It wasn’t nice for our fans that stayed with us in the main, and it wasn’t nice for us to go through on the touch-line either. It wouldn’t have been great for the players to go through that either, but hopefully we won’t have to experience that again.”

Speaking to the press afterwards, Edwards had said he wouldn’t ‘rant and rave’ immediately at his players, although that might change once he has watched the game back with his staff. However, having viewed it again, the Town boss was still able to keep his cool knowing that any other emotions could prove counterproductive at such a critical point of the campaign.

He continued: “Afterwards there was some honesty, but I didn’t have to get in anyone’s face or berate anyone. This stage of the season now it’s not about overreacting, it’s about truth and then not dwelling on it too much as well. Monday we came in, honesty in the meeting room, but it wasn’t a video nasty, it wasn’t X-rated or anything like that.

"It was just a couple of real key clips to get us back to, this is what we need to do and that’s what we’re going to stick to for the rest of the season and let’s get back to that, so learn from it. I need the lads to want to run for me and each other as well, so I’ll support them and I’ll back them and they’ve been amazing for this football club. Like I said, they’ve got a lot of credit in the bank for what they’ve done for this club and the position we’re in right now. We know we dropped our standards and I know we’ll react well.”

Luton now have to do so at a club that Edwards knows better than most, having spent four years with Wolves as a player, racking up 100 appearances, and then returning to Molineux as U18s coach in 2013. He was named first team coach and also had a brief spell as interim head coach, leaving in June 2017, but was back as head coach of the U23s in July 2018, before moving on to work with the FA.

He added: “It’s a club that’s very dear to me. I spent a number of years there as a player and as a coach, it’s a really special club. It will be nice to go back, but that’s where it ends, that’s it. All I care about is Luton Town and our performance.”